Antigua Classic Regatta – Concours d'Elegance and Single Handed Race

by Louay Habib on 17 Apr 2015

Frolic - Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta Antigua Classics

Racing for the full fleet at Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta, sponsored by Panerai, starts tomorrow. However today, exponents of solo racing, enjoyed a stand-alone event, testing seamanship and dexterity. The 16th Edition of the Single Handed Race, attracted 20 entries: Argyll, Cruinneag III, Cuilaun, Exodus, Frolic, Genesis, Guiding Light, Lazy Leg, Lorema, Meriva of London, Peter Von Seestermuehe, Samsara, Saphaedra, Seefalke, Sweetheart, Synia, The Blue Peter, Vagabundo II, Windjammer and Zemi.

Hans Lammers (Observer) and Don Ward (Skipper) Frolic - Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta © Antigua Classics

The Single Handed Race had a reaching start south, followed by an upwind leg to the Pillars of Hercules, a penultimate leg downwind to Rendezvous Bay with a beat back to finish.
Winner of the Under 45' Class was Don Ward's Luders 44, Frolic. The 45' and Over Class was won by Saphaedra.

Don Ward has lived in Antigua for 45 years and is a tremendous supporter of Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta, his observer on board was Hans Lammers, who often helms Frolic, when fully crewed, and is the caretaker for the boat. “Frolic has a secret weapon.” smiled Don Ward. “The jib has a self-tacking system and it was highly useful today, tacking on the shifts, especially in Rendezvous Bay, where Frolic got a big lift. 'Classics is such a wonderful regatta, I look forward to it every year.”

“For the Concours d'Elegance, we are looking at key areas such as presentation, originality to concept and condition.” Commented Alan Hutchinson, Chairman of the Lunenburg Shipyard Alliance. “There are discretionary areas such as whether the crew are living aboard and the history and stories behind these fascinating boats. For each class, these criteria are weighted in different ways. The Lunenberg Shipyard Alliance was started five years ago so that we could collaborate on projects, including the restoration of Bluenose II, which we are extremely proud of and the winners will receive trophies made from reclaimed mahogany from the restoration project. We have a team of very skilled craftsmen, whose families have been shipwrights for generations and we work with world-renowned designers for new projects. By supporting this regatta, we hope that the participants will come our way and we have a lot to offer in Nova Scotia; fantastic cruising in an unspoilt location that is barely on the map.”

The overall winner for the Lunenberg Shipyard Alliance Concours d’Elegance was Mary Rose. Class winners where Mary Rose, Dragonera, Elena, Genesis, Katrinka and a special mention for Lorema and Samsara was the winner of the Arne Frizzell Prize presented to the yacht with the greatest attention to structural integrity and safety.

Tonight the 'Classics will be partying at the Antigua Yacht Club with the Concours d’Elégance Trophy Presentation and courtesy of the Race Committee, complimentary bubbly will be flowing with the Panache steel band on stage. From Friday, 18th April, the magnificent fleet of classic yachts will begin a four-day race programme with fun filled parties ashore.

Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta © Anna Sundquist

Antigua Classic Regatta © Stephen Moore

Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta © Anna Sundquist

Full resluts:

Start 1400 Hours
Under 45' - Yellow Flag Class

NAME	LOA	Owner	TCF	Start Time	Finish Time	Elapsed Time	Corrected Time	Place
Frolic	44	Don Ward	0.819	14:35:00	15:25:05	00:50:05	00:32:10	1
Vagabundo II	42	Robert Fabre	0.819	14:35:00	15:35:40	01:00:40	00:39:25	2
Meriva of London	43	Tristan Darkins	0.861	14:35:00	15:36:47	01:01:47	00:40:12	3
Lazy Leg	40	Juerg Zimmermann	0.790	14:35:00	15:44:04	01:09:04	00:45:17	4
Guiding Light	36'9	Roy Boughton	0.804	14:35:00	15:46:30	01:11:30	00:47:00	5
Lorema	25	Leo Goolden	0.704	14:35:00	15:48:31	01:13:31	00:48:25	6
Synia	38.5	Charles R Hogan	0.771	14:35:00	15:59:22	01:24:22	00:56:12	7
Sweetheart	36	Charles Morgan / Sam Duce	0.775	14:35:00	DNS
Seefalke	41	Griffith Williams	0.768	14:35:00	DNS
Exodus	42	Alwyn Enoe	0.841	14:35:00	DNS
Genesis	42	Alexis Andrews	0.829	14:35:00	DNS
ZEMI	42		0.831	14:35:00	DNS

Start 1410 Hours
45' and over- Green Flag Class

NAME	LOA	Owner	TCF	Start Time	Finish Time	Elapsed Time	Corrected Time	Place
Saphaedra	51'1	CSD Services, LLC	0.830	14:45:00	15:35:05	00:50:05	00:32:31	1
Cuilaun	55	Brian Smullen	0.864	14:45:00	15:35:47	00:50:47	00:33:00	2
The Blue Peter	65'	Mathew Barker	0.930	14:45:00	15:37:24	00:52:24	00:34:07	3
Argyll	56	Griff Rhys Jones	0.881	14:45:00	15:38:34	00:53:34	00:34:55	4
Peter Von Seestermuehe	59	Christoph von Reibnitz	0.881	14:45:00	15:45:14	01:00:14	00:39:32	5
Windjammer	54	Ashley Kerr	0.873	14:45:00	16:22:24	01:37:24	01:06:27	6
Samsara	52	Alexander Drinkwater	0.816	14:45:00	RET			7
Cruinneag III	64	Nicholas Christie	0.866	14:45:00	DNS